The Streets of San Francisco

At last a city with a difference - hills. San Francisco really does stand out from the crowd. It has all the usual Starbucks and Subway overload, but it also has stonking great hills that nearly kill you then reward you with a spectacular view. Again I was lucky with the weather, because the notorious fog would take away most of the views. Even then you'd still have the fabulous cable cars running up and down the hills.
People had told me that the 4th July celebrations would be, in the American sense, awesome, so I went down to the waterfront to see if I could be awed. Apart from a couple of bands and a few street entertainers, it was all a bit low-key. The locals seemed to celebrate by covering every available inch of grass with barbecues, drinking beer, and throwing footballs to each other. The main event was the firework display in the evening. It was an impressive show, and at times I did feel a slight bit of awe. The problem with fireworks of course ( or the advantage, depending on your point of view) is that the better they are the less time they last, so it was all over fairly quickly. Walking back across town it was all very quiet, I suppose most people had work the next day.
Having walked over the Golden Gate bridge on the 4th, my tourist head suggested a trip to Alcatraz. It was only $21.75 which seemed quite reasonable for what you got, then reality bit. It was Thursday morning, and they were taking bookings for Sunday afternoon. Oh well, $21.75 back in the kitty.
My last day saw me with some time to kill before catching the bus. As I had been wondering about the workings of the cable cars, I headed for the cable car museum. It turned out to be fascinating, and even better free. If you go to San Francisco, as well as making sure to wear some flowers in your hair, spare an hour for the cable car museum.